Anywhere is a Place for Prayer
Here in Jeddah and all over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is a common sight to see people praying on the streets. If they could not go to a nearby mosque, they can choose any place to pray. They do it in groups, but if wanted, they may do it alone.
It’s a good thing to know that people can pray anywhere. It is an affirmation that God is everywhere.
Pakistani expats sitting on the side of the street waiting for the time to pray.
This post is my share to WordPress Daily Prompt Theme, “Society”.
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/daily-prompt-west-end-girls/
Time to Warm Up
A week after my return to work here in Jeddah, I began to explore my newly acquired fuji x100s for street photography.
I sold my Canon gear last year to be able to buy this very famous mirrorless camera from fuji. There are two major reasons why I change gear. First, my Canon DSLR’s shutter count is almost done. Secondly, I want a small and more discrete camera to use for my photography genre aside from landscape and still life which is street photography..
Photography here in Saudi Arabia doesn’t have that full freedom yet. There are places where photography is not allowed. Some people, especially Saudis are not that much open yet to be photographed by a stranger. (Note: women here are not allowed to be photographed). As a photographer, I respect there rules and regulations regarding photography.
To start my journey of documenting the streets and people’s lives here in Jeddah, I had a simple photowalk near my place. Later, I found out that most of the people living in that area are Pakistanis (I can recognize them through their clothes.) My purpose is not to fully focus on making photographs but to observe first how people will react on a person walking with a camera and how will they respond if they saw me shooting some things within the area. I also tried to observe if they will be that friendly if I greet them while I pass by. To make it short, I am just warming up. An introduction to my journey which I would like to take while I’m here in a foreign land.
As they say, street photography is very hard. One will be happy if he comes back with at least one successful good shot. Here are some shots from the photowalk.
This simple photowalk gave me an idea to document the different front doors and windows where expats lived (excluding those who lived in hotels and grandeur accomodations) here in Jeddah, KSA.
THE MARRIED MAN WHO LOVES HIS X 